Kimono-in-training
by wonderwallwanderlust
Summary: It's been 50 years since the start of what all our history books are calling the Return of the Legends, or that is when the three legendary beasts were said to return to the land, along with the sighting of Lugia and Ho-Oh. One-shot, could become a story in the future if well received.


It's been 50 years since the start of what all our history books are calling the Return of the Legends, or that is when the three legendary beasts were said to return to the land, along with the sighting of Lugia and Ho-Oh. It's even said that you can see the Unknown floating thru the Ruins of Alph, but I don't know how much of that I believe.

My mother lived on Cinnabar Island, where she met our father on his way to the Safari Zone. The two fell in love instantly, and so my father returned with his island bride and they were married in Ecruteak City, in front of the Burned Tower during the Legends Festival. Now my father works on the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City, while my mother, now retired, runs the Dance Hall here in Ecruteak. It embarrasses my older brother Bradley to death, saying it's "gross" to hear all of his friends moon over his hot mom. I can't get enough of the dance hall though, it's where I took my first steps, learned my first dance, had all of my birthdays as far back as I can remember. Watching my mother dance is one of my favorite memories,seeing her twirl around her Vaporeon, all the while clutching my Poke Egg and dreaming of the day when I would get to join her.

Now I'm 17, and I practice all day with my Eevee, Lux, or at least until my brother comes in and pulls me out of the studio.

"Brad let go! I need to work on the Sun and Moon dance!" I whine.

"Oh Vanessa lighten up. You dance more than any of the actual dancers, you're fine." he tells me.

I hated when he called me by my full name. "I almost had that Sun Salutation down," I yelled at him, slapping his hold off my arm.

"Geez Ness, someone's sensitive today." Walking ahead of me with his arms tucked behind his head, Brad looks back to give me a smirk, his eyes full of mischief.

Even I can't deny it, but my brother is gorgeous, unbelievably handsome, and not only does he know it, but every girl in our town knows it, even some of the ones in Olivine talk about him. He's tall, 6'3", with dirty blond hair and these green eyes with amber specks, a perfect combination of both of our parents. He's tan and well built from his hours of working at the Miltank Farm, another blessing the girls in town are always thankful for on a hot summer day.

I, on the other hand, look like our mother, long and lean, a dancer's body. My hair is brown, but dark enough to be black, and my skin has just enough of a glow that I appear to have a tan all year long. That's where the similarities end though, as I have deep purple eyes that are all my own. My mother claims that they are a blessing from the legendary beasts, but I just shake my head whenever she spouts her legends on me.

"What are we doing anyways?" I complain, still dragging my feet behind me.

"You spend too many hours with Lux just dancing," Brad tells me. "He needs some real experience otherwise he's never going to learn or grow as your partner." I know he's right, as I stand there holding my Eevee's Pokeball. "How about a battle Ness?"

"Fine," I say without hesitation. "1-on-1, no substitutions." Since he issued the challenge, I call the shots. Though for me it'd be a 1-on-1 regardless. Lux is my only Pokemon; I've had no interest in anything besides becoming a Kimono Girl, so he's all I'd even need. Brad on the other hand trains constantly, so I know he has a couple of things up his sleeve. The smirk on his face tells me I'm right, as he reaches down onto his belt to pull off one of his Pokeballs.

"Alright Spearow, let's go!" My brother sends out the small brown bird Pokemon, who caws, taunting me as it scratches in the dirt.

"Lux, you're on." Out comes my pride and joy with a graceful leap. He growls at his opponent, stance low and steady, reader for orders. "Agility, let's go!" I cry, hoping to catch the edge on my brother.

"Spearow, use sand-attack, then peck!" Spearow flushes up some sand towards where Lux _was_, lunging forward to follow with a peck, before being blindsided by Lux tackling him from the left.

"Way to move Lux! Keep it up!" My Eevee keeps bouncing around Spearow, circling and diving in, then speeding out, following a pattern similar to the dance we were practicing. Spearow couldn't keep up with our speed, and it was starting to look tired. Unfortunately, my brother was quick enough for the both of them.

"Spearow! Off the ground, let's get a bird's eye view." Pushing off, Spearow climbs right out of reach, leaving Lux to break to a stop, snarling up at the bird Pokemon. "Now let's use Wing Attack!" Unable to dodge, Spearow hits the Eevee full on, the first real hit he's taken all battle.

"Lux now! Lock on with Bite!" Quickly Lux was able to grab ahold of the wing he had just been attacked with, biting down hard.

"No Spearow! Shake him off!" I could tell my brother was getting worried by his tone, but I was going to prove that I hadn't been wasting my time dancing.

"No way big brother - Lux hold on and keep biting down! Finish this!" Spearow's frantic movements were weak, he'd already taken a beating, and had only landed one hit the whole fight. Lux growled, holding on and shaking his head to keep his hold on the bird Pokemon's wing.

"Let's finish this Lux, with Take Down!" Pulling down on the wing and throwing Spearow towards the ground, the Eevee crashes into him with enough force to feel a bit of backlash. But in the end Lux was still standing, and my brother's Spearow was unmoving in the dirt.

"Ugh! Spearow return!" Brad recalls his Pokemon with a disgusted look on his face. "Good job buddy, rest up." All of the malice was towards his little sister, who just thumped him soundly.

"Good job Lux! Return!" I recalled my own Pokemon with a huge smirk on my face. "So, what was that about my Pokemon not learning or growing?"

Grumbling, Brad walks past me, his anger obvious. I skipped beyond him, following to the Pokemon Center.

Later that night I'm back in the studio with Lux. Nothing has been going right. I keep falling out of my turns, tripping over my Pokemon, losing count. Finally I just lay down on the floor, turning the music off, and staring up at the stars thru the skylight. Lux lays beside me, with a comforting, low purr coming out of him.

"What am I doing?" I whisper.

"Eeee?" my Pokemon pokes his head up to rest on my chest, looking at me.

"I don't know what I'm doing Lux," I tell him, rubbing under his chin, his favorite spot, producing that low purr again. "I try and I try, but I'm nowhere as graceful as any of the Kimonos. Who am I kidding, the only thing I'm good at is battling."

"Eeeeeeev! Eevee!" Lux cries at me, standing up and out of reach, tail swishing side to side.

"…But what if I'm not good at being a trainer, Lux," I whisper. "What if I can't do it, just like I can't dance?"

My Pokemon gives a soft cry that I almost miss, before a bright beam of light begins shining all around him. I jump up, not believing what's happening in front of me. Suddenly, the light ends, and I can't see my Eevee at all.

"Lux…? Boy…?" Suddenly, bright yellow eyes appear in front of me, along with several golden rings outlining an otherwise all black body.

"Breeeee." My new Umbreon comes up to rub against my legs, forcing me to kneel down to cuddle him in my arms.

"Okay Lux. If you have enough faith in me, how can I fail?" I said with a smile.

**_If you liked this, want more of Ness and Lux, or even Brad and his mystery team, let me know! I would like to morph this into a story, but won't if there isn't any real interest! All comments are appreciated, thank you!  
A._**


End file.
